Latest news with #IranNegotiations
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Balance of Power: Early Edition 6/20/2025
On the early edition of Balance of Power, Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Joe Mathieu discusses negotiations with Iran to avoid further conflict in the Middle East. On today's show, Bloomberg's Nick Wadhams, Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer, Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis, Third Way Executive Vice President for Public Affairs Matt Bennett, Former Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Independent
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Lammy urges Iran and US to keep talking as Middle East conflict continues
David Lammy has urged Iran to carry on negotiations with the US as he continued to seek a diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict. The Foreign Secretary met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday alongside foreign ministers from France and Germany and the EU's foreign policy chief. Following the meeting, Mr Lammy said the Europeans were 'keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States'. He added: 'We were clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.' Friday's meeting followed Donald Trump's statement that he would delay a decision on whether the US would join Israeli strikes against Iran for two weeks, raising the prospect of a negotiated solution to the crisis. German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said the group had left the room 'with the impression that the Iranian side is fundamentally ready to continue talking about all important issues'. Speaking to broadcasters after the meeting, Mr Lammy described the situation as 'perilous' and urged Iran to 'take that off ramp' and 'be serious about the diplomacy that is required at this moment'. He added that the US and Europe were pushing for Iran to agree to zero enrichment of uranium as a 'starting point' for negotiations. But Mr Araghchi said Iran would not negotiate with the US as long as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes against the country. Tel Aviv's campaign continued on Friday, with Israel saying its aircraft had hit military targets including missile-manufacturing facilities as it continues to attack locations connected with Iran's nuclear programme. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens. Number 10 said on Friday morning the situation remains 'fast-moving' and it will continue to be monitored closely. A spokesman added: 'We are advising British nationals to continue to register their presence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to be contactable with further guidance on these flights.' Mr Lammy said work is under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens who want to leave the region. 'The UK will provide charter flights for British nationals from Tel Aviv when airspace reopens,' he said. 'The safety of British nationals remains our top priority.' According to the Israeli government, some 22,000 tourists are seeking to board evacuation flights. It is unclear how many of these may be UK citizens. Government advice for British nationals in the country remains to follow local guidance, as well as to let officials know about their presence within Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Land routes out of Israel remain open and British staff are on hand to support UK nationals who have crossed the border, he added. The move follows criticism of the Foreign Office's initial response, which saw family members of embassy staff evacuated while UK citizens were not advised to leave and told to follow local guidance. The Government said the move to temporarily withdraw family members had been a 'precautionary measure'. On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump to make Iran decision 'within the next two weeks' given 'chance' of negotiations, Leavitt says
White House Press Secretary Karlone Leavitt said Thursday that President Donald Trump will make a decision on the U.S. becoming involved in Israel's conflict with Iran within the next two weeks. "I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, 'based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,'" Leavitt said quoting Trump at a White House briefing. "That's a quote directly from the president for all of you today." "Hs been very clear," she added. "Iran went for 60 days when he gave them that a 60-day warning without coming to the table. On day 61, Israel took action against Iran. And as I just told you from the president directly, he will make a decision within two weeks in."
Sky News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
As Iran tries to talk its way towards a resolution, Israel has other ideas
Donald Trump's early departure from the G7 was entirely in keeping with a president semi-detached. He looked an awkward fit in Kananaskis, Alberta - a reluctant guest among political counterparts for whom he remains a curiosity - not in a good way. If he wanted an early 'out', he had a good excuse. They know here, as in the Middle East, that Trump is the pivotal president who can turn war into peace. 0:47 In executing the responsibility, he has turned back to the negotiating table. Iranian officials had asked for fresh talks and it seems they have their wish, with a White House offer of discussions on a ceasefire and nuclear deal. They have been here before without success, but the context has clearly changed. As Iran endeavours to talk its way towards a resolution, Israel has other ideas. It wants the US to supply the bunker-busting bombs it lacks to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear storage sites. The Israelis have the ear of the US president. For now, however, Trump believes he can reach a deal with the Iranians through dialogue. His negotiating position is further strengthened by the prospect of answering Israel's call and engaging US weaponry. If and when the Iranians sit down with the Americans for fresh discussions, it will feel like make or break. For the absence of doubt, Donald Trump posted on social media last night: "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Donald Trump can claim a vindication of his strategy. Negotiations with Iran drifted and - if we assume US assent of the Israeli action - Trump effectively outsourced the military action that's brought Iran to heel. The test of him now is how he exploits the opportunity, and trust will be at the heart of it. The Iranians will consider how they negotiate in good faith with a US president aligned with an Israeli prime minister harbouring ambitions for regime change in their country. For their part, the Israelis will ponder whether they can trust him to deliver, given their more belligerent view on the way forward. And they will have legitimate questions arising from the diplomatic history of a US president big on promises. Whatever Trump states in his covering letter, the CV doesn't read too well.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
European leaders at G7 trying to bring Iran back to negotiating table
European leaders at the G7 summit in Canada are trying to engineer an Iranian return to the negotiating table using Gulf leaders as intermediaries. But Iran is demanding a joint ceasefire with Israel, while Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is resisting the move, and Donald Trump has yet to show his hand. The US is seen by Iran as critical to putting pressure on Israel, but Trump wants indications that Iran will back down on its insistence that it will continue to have the right to enrich uranium inside Iran. He is willing to continue to use the Israeli assault as a bargaining chip if necessary. Trump said on Monday that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations 'before it's too late'. 'They have to make a deal, and it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late,' the US president told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, appealed to Trump to break with Netanyahu, telling the US president he was being played by an Israeli leader who was determined to scuttle a deal Iran and the US were on the verge of sealing. He said: 'By all indications, the purpose of Netanyahu's criminal attack on Iran – killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children – is to scuttle a deal between Iran and the US, which we were on the right path to achieve. He is playing yet another American president, and ever more American taxpayers, for absolute fools. 'If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue. It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.' The United Arab Emirates, the country that sent Trump's first negotiating offer to Iran, has been one of the intermediaries along with Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Oman's foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, the previous broker in the US-Iran talks, has been urging Tehran to return to the negotiating table, pointing to the heavily laden military odds against Iran. Iranian news agencies reported the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, had warned the Sultan of Oman that, 'if the United States does not restrain Israel, Iran will be forced to continue its response in a more severe and painful manner'. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister; and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, have both been in touch with the UAE leadership, and Starmer claimed there was a consensus for de-escalation. 'It is really important that we focus on de-escalation, because the risks of the conflict escalating are obvious across the region and beyond the region, the impact that this could and probably will have on Gaza, which is a tinderbox, and, of course, the impact on the economy. That is why the G7 has such a focus on de-escalation. That will be an intense discussion for our talks today 'We're just arriving for the beginning of these talks. We haven't started the sessions yet, so there's going to be a whole day of discussions about all manner of things, including the economy, the global economy, and a number of other matters. But this will be a central issue.' European leaders at the G7 are warning Iran both directly and via Gulf leaders that Iranian concessions will have to be made at the negotiating table, or Israel is likely to press home its military advantage to the point of securing an end to the Iranian government formed after the revolution in 1979. With the vast majority of its military and intelligence leadership wiped out by Israel in assassinations, Iran's decision-making structure is in flux. Even parts of the Iranian foreign ministry in Tehran have been bombed. European leaders are deeply concerned both by doubts over the nature of any successor regime, the prospect of Iran's break-up and a prolonged conflict that could hit world trade and send oil prices up if Iran blocked the strait of Hormuz in a desperate attempt to cling to power. Iran has insisted it is not interested in building a nuclear bomb, but is not saying it is willing to abandon its right to enrich uranium, the red line that the Iranian foreign minister insisted on throughout the talks with the US. The coincidence of the G7 meeting with the escalation in the Iran crisis has provided European leaders with an opportunity to try to reimpose themselves in the Iran negotiations from which they have been largely excluded by American ever since Trump returned to the White House Between 2013 and 2025 the three European powers of UK France and Germany had been ever-present in the negotiations with Iran. The G7 leaders are also preparing a joint statement on the Iran-Israel crisis At issue has been whether any joint statement calling for a return to diplomacy and ruling out Iran ever possessing nuclear weapons goes further by calling for a ceasefire. Some states wanted to hint at criticism of Israel for upending the US and Iranian negotiations that were due to have continued on Sunday. But G7 member states are divided, with Japan's prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, on Friday sharply criticising Israel's recent military assaults on Iran, labelling the attacks 'totally intolerable' and 'extremely regrettable' amid rising tensions in the region.
